The Conservative Case for Precedent. Professor Thomas Merrill (Columbia Law School) met with Yals Law’s FedSoc on September 20, 2010 to discuss different constitutional interpretive theories. According to Professor Merrill, there are significant benefits to using precedent as opposed to originalism in conservative constitutional interpretation.
Duration: 47 minutes. Download in MP3 (45 MB).

Dodd-Frank and Corporate Governance. Connie Friesen is a partner in Sidley Austin LLP’s banking practice. On September 13, 2010, Ms. Friesen shared her thoughts on the substance of the Dodd-Frank bill and how she anticipates it will affect corporate practice with the Fall 2010 Yale Law FedSoc.
Duration: 22 minutes. Download in MP3 (21 MB).

Citizens United: Freedom of the Press or Freedom of ‘the Pressers’? Listen to the audio here. The First Amendment protects “freedom of Speech” and “freedom of the press.” But who can exercise those freedoms? “Speech” seems to be an act, but “Press” could be an entity. Is there a distinction between speech and speakers? Between printing and “The press?” Citizens United should have brought these questions into focus, but generally has not. Judge Boggs explored what Citizens United tells us about freedom, and what the opposition to it tell us about efforts to license or suppress press and speech.

“Federalism All the Way Down?” J. Skelly Wright Inaugural Lecture Yale Law FedSoc, March 8, 2010